THERE’S a new favourite chocolate tub and it has sent shoppers into frenzy – with one declaring it would replace Quality Streets.

Shoppers have flocked to M&S to pick up a giant festive tub branded better than all of the Christmas faves.

With Christmas just around the corner, M&S has mixed its iconic Mini Bites into a family sharer for the first time ever.

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The epic mix is three times the size of the classic tubs, and includes the bestselling double chocolate mini rolls, caramel crispies, and new festive flavour, cranberry and yoghurt clusters.

An M&S icon since 2001, there are 14 tubs in the range, plus three new tubs for the festive season.

The new tub is set to fly off the shelves, after the brand announced the new festive treats on Instagram, sending shoppers in a frenzy.

On person said: “This will definitely replace Quality Streets this Christmas.”

A second person commented: “This is the best idea EVER. Totally obsessed!.”

While a third summed up the delicious treat with a simple: “Yum”.

M&S is also launching two new festive Mini Bites flavours tMint Choc Chip Mini Bites (£3.75, 215g) and Extremely Chocolatey Yule Log Bites (£3.75, 295g).

The family sized mini bites selection is £10 for a 700g tin and can be found in the M&S food hall and online on Ocado.

Christmas Treats

Everyone loves a sweet treat during the festive season and whether your preference is for Cadbury Heroes, Celebrations or a classic tub of Quality Street these are the cheapest prices.

If you’re partial to a tub of Quality Street, both Aldi and Lidl are selling 600g tubs for £4.49 – making them the cheapest out there.

In comparison Sainsbury’s and Tesco are selling the chocolates for £4.50 for Nectar and Clubcard holders, while Asda has priced them at £6 individually, or £9 for two.

Morrisons is also pricing the tubs at £6, while Ocado is charging £5.

Quality Street was launched in 1936 and has been a favourite with families since.

The selection includes ‘the purple one’ which brings together hazelnut and caramel, the toffee finger, orange chocolate crunch, strawberry delight and ‘the green triangle’.

Cadbury Heroes lovers can also pick up 550g tubs for £4.50 from Sainsbury’s and Tesco if they are Nectar or Clubcard members.

Asda has Heroes tubs included in its two for £9 deal, meaning if you’re happy to double up you can pick them up at the supermarket for the same price as Tesco and Sainsbury’s shoppers.

Meanwhile, Aldi is selling the tubs for £4.99 and Morrisons for £6.

The Heroes selection includes Cadbury Dairy Milk, Twirl and Crunchie.

Celebrations are also available for £4.50 from Tesco for Clubcard members, or as part of Asda’s two for £9 deal.

Aldi is selling the tubs for £4.99, Sainsbury’s for £6 and Morrisons for £6.

The Celebrations selection includes Mars, Snickers, Twix, Bounty and Galaxy.

If you’re sharing chocolates with family this year and want to pick up a selection of tubs Asda’s two for £9 deal, which includes Quality Street, Cadbury Heroes, Celebrations, Cadbury Roses and a Swizzels assortment, may be the way to go.

THOSE concerned about their bills this winter can pick up a simple £7.99 gadget that could slash energy costs by hundreds of pounds.

With Brits facing high energy prices and millions of pensioners missing out on the winter fuel payment, many are looking for help with managing costs this year.

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Lidl may have the answer thanks to a plug-in power meter that measures how much energy your appliances are really using.

The £7.99 power meter will measure usage and calculate costs according to your energy tariff and is available in store from Sunday November 10.

It works like a second plug – you slot it into your socket, and then plug your appliance into it.

You can use it for any appliance you plug in, including televisions, freezers, washing machines and dryers.

The information it provides can help households identify which devices are guzzling energy allowing them to change habits to cut their bills.

To take a read simply plug the monitor into the socket, set the unit price and plug in your appliance before using it as normal to see how much energy it uses in a typical day.

Consumer champion Which? said: “Using an energy monitor is one of the best ways to clearly ascertain how much electricity you’re using on individual appliances  — hopefully helping you to work out where money can be saved in the long run.”

Low Energy Supermarket estimates that a plug-in power monitor will help you to discover savings of £200 per year.

When selecting a power meter always remember to compare statistics and prices, to ensure you’re getting the best deal.

This can be done using comparison tools such as trolley.co.uk.

A quick internet search showed that Screwfix has a similar model for £18.99 and Amazon is selling a range of devices available for around £10.

Power meters will only measure the energy used from one plug socket, so if you want to know the total amount of energy you’re using around the house you may want to install a smart meter.

But, the benefit of a power meter is that it can help you quickly identify which appliances are using the most power.

A dad-of-two went around every room in his house using the device to see how much his appliances cost to run – and was shocked by the results.

The biggest cost drain was his old freezer, which was costing him around 68p a day to run – amounting to a whopping £250 a year.

With everything he learned he was able to make some changes and save a whopping £750 a year.

It is worth remembering that the energy price cap was considerably higher at that time, so savings are unlikely to be as high now.

The energy price cap is currently £1,568, the lowest figure in two years.

The cap is calculated based on the wholesale price of gas and electricity and what Ofgem thinks an average household will use.

Other ways to monitor energy usage

Smart plugs aren’t the only way to keep track of your energy usage.

Getting a smart meter installed can also help track how much you’re spending on gas and electricity.

These are different to smart plugs as they look at energy usage around the whole home rather than for each device.

The actual smart meter sends the readings to your supplier so you don’t have to, while the in-home display screen shows you how much you’re spending.

Most energy suppliers provide smart meters and displays for free. However, some users have reported issues with their devices, for example when changing providers.

Your supplier should be able to answer any questions you have.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

TESCO shoppers have until the end of the month to spend millions of pounds worth of Clubcard vouchers before they expire.

It comes as the supermarket chain revealed there are millions of points set to expire at the end of the month.

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More than £18million in vouchers still need to be used before 11.59pm November 30.

That’s unless you use the handy trick from Martin Lewis‘ MoneySavingExpert to extend the lifespan of the vouchers.

Shoppers on the Clubcard scheme receive vouchers after spending in-store or online, with every 150 points worth £1.50.

These vouchers can be used on your weekly food shop and with any number of Tesco‘s partners including PizzaExpress and Hotels.com.

Any vouchers spent with a Tesco partner are also worth two times their normal value.

The MSE team have revealed three options to extend the rewards beyond the expiry date, they are:

• Make a small purchase on the Tesco Clubcard Rewards page or donate to one of the charities the store partners with. The remaining balance is credited back to your Clubcard account as points. So if you spend 50p on an item using a £5 Clubcard voucher, you’ll get 450 points back, which is worth £4.50.

• Swap your points for vouchers manually or wait for them to be converted with your next statement. It is worth bearing in mind the expiry date for these new vouchers will be two years in the future.

• Shell out as little as possible. A good option might be a 50p restaurant voucher (worth £1 at your chosen restaurant). You’ll need to do this for each individual voucher, so it’s worth weighing up if it’s actually worth it for smaller denominations. For example, if you’ve a £10 voucher it could be worth it.

How does Tesco’s Clubcard work?

You earn points as you shop, which can then be turned into vouchers for money off food or with Tesco’s partners.

You earn one point for each £1 spent, and each point is then worth 1p.

So 150 points gets you £1.50, and you would have to spend £150 to get 150 points.

You need a minimum of 150 points to request a voucher.

Any vouchers are worth their face value when used in-store at Tesco.

But you can double their worth by spending them at one of the supermarket chain’s partners.

There are over 100 partners you can spend your Clubcard points with, including the RAC, Disney+ and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Points spent with partners used to be worth triple value, but Tesco changed this to double last year.

Any vouchers transferred into Reward Partner codes expire after six months.

Loyalty card holders also get access to over 8,000 items for less through Clubcard Prices.

RECLAIM LOST CLUBCARD POINTS

Many people lose or forget to use their Tesco vouchers, but there’s an easy way to claw back the last two years of unused vouchers.

Here’s exactly how to find out if you have any unused vouchers.

The first step is to log into your Tesco Clubcard account on Tesco.com or via the Clubcard app.

You’ll need your name, email address and Clubcard number to hand.

Once you’ve logged in, navigate to “My Clubcard Account” and then click on “Vouchers” to see a full list of any vouchers you still have to spend.

You can use the code included in your voucher to spend online.

If you want to redeem them in-store, you’ll need to print them off and take them with you. 

YOU don’t need fancy kit to keep your screens clean.

With a bit of know-how, you can keep your gadgets sparkly and germ-free without splashing cash.

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Clean up with these ideas.

ON THE BUTTONS: TV remotes, gaming handsets, computer mice and keyboards all need a regular wipe.

For keyboards, turn your device off before tipping it upside down to dislodge and loose dirt.

Use a clean, soft make-up brush, paintbrush or toothbrush to dust over the keys, and then wipe gently with a screen wipe.

You can use a cotton bud to dust gently between the keys.

GOOD CALL: How often does your phone need cleaning?

A lot more often than you think.

With nearly half of us taking our phones into the bathroom, experts recommend a daily wipe-over to get rid of any germs.

You can use screen wipes, but they are not essential.

Instead, a dash of washing-up liquid in a bowl of water works wonders.

Dip in a soft microfibre cloth, then wring it out so it is just a little damp.

Turn off your phone, then wipe over the screen and casing avoiding any openings like charging and headphone ports.

Don’t forget to clean inside the case too.

Whatever you do, don’t put your phone in water.

Only the newest waterproof models — which will have an IP7 or IP68 rating — can withstand a dunking.

SCREEN SAVER: A smeary screen can ruin your enjoyment of the latest drama.

First off, try cleaning with a dry soft cloth.

Don’t use anything with a rough surface, or kitchen roll, which could scratch your screen.

Wipe gently in small circles, without pushing on the screen too much.

For stubborn stains, it’s recommended that you switch off your set before using a cloth that has been dampened with a little water.

Use another cloth to dry.

Use a similar method for a laptop screen.

• All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability.

Deal of the day

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HEAD to Tesco to get a five-piece Tefal Titanium pan set, down from £70 to £35 with a Clubcard, in-store only.

SAVE: £35

Cheap treat

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BRIGHTEN up weekend breaks with this waterproof bag from rexlondon.com, down from £29.95 to £9.95.

SAVE: £20

What’s new?

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GET 20 per cent off at Ernest Jones jewellers with the code available at vouchercodes.co.uk, taking this Swarovski bracelet down from £89 to £71.20.

Top swap

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STEP out in the Denno white Chelsea boots, £130 from Jones Bootmakers, or flex your feet in the Off The Hook boots, £35.99 from Debenhams.

SAVE: £94.01

Little helper

ENJOY half-price roasts at Sainsbury’s with a Nectar card. It takes a small pork leg crackling joint down from £7.75 to £3.87.

Shop & save

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PADDINGTON is back in cinemas and you can take him home – with this soft toy, down from £22.99 to £12.99 at very.co.uk.

SAVE: £10

PLAY NOW TO WIN £200

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JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle.

Every month we’re giving away £100 to 250 lucky readers – whether you’re saving up or just in need of some extra cash, The Sun could have you covered.

Every Sun Savers code entered equals one Raffle ticket.

The more codes you enter, the more tickets you’ll earn and the more chance you will have of winning!

MILLIONS of savers are set to see lower returns on their savings after the Bank of England slashed interest rates yesterday.

On Thursday, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut the base rate by 0.25 percentage points from 5% to 4.75% on Thursday.

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The base rate directly influences the interest rates banks offer on products such as mortgages, credit cards, and savings accounts.

While mortgage holders are celebrating the reduction in borrowing costs, savers are bearing the brunt of this decision.

As borrowing costs fall, banks tend to lower interest rates on certain savings accounts.

Whether you are affected depends on your bank and the type of savings account you hold.

Some accounts have fixed interest rates for a set period, while others, such as easy-access accounts, can see their rates change at any time.

Analysis by Shawbrook Bank indicates that 1.4million savers with fixed deals ending before January could face financial setbacks if they do not get ready to switch accounts promptly.

Adam Thrower, the bank’s head of savings, warns that failing to act quickly “could be costly” for these savers.

However, Rachel Springhall, finance expert at MoneyFactsCompare.co.uk, said: “The cut to interest rates is not all doom and gloom as savers can easily switch their flexible pots elsewhere.

“Challenger banks are offering attractive returns and it would be unwise to overlook them when they have the same protections in place as a high street bank.

“Savers need to proactively keep on top of the best rates and review their pots regularly to see if they are getting a raw deal.”

For instance, Principality Building Society’s Six Month Regular Saver offers an impressive 8% interest on savings, with a minimum deposit requirement of just £1 per month.

However, if you save a maximum of £200 each month for just six months, you’ll earn at least £27.53 in interest.

However, it’s important to be aware that each type of savings account has its own conditions and limitations.

Therefore, it’s vital to thoroughly understand these details to determine which account best suits your financial needs.

We’ve outlined the best savings rates by account type below to help you maximise your returns.

What’s on offer?

The best fixed rate currently offered is Atom Bank’s one-year fixed bond, which pays 4.8% and only requires a minimum investment of £50.

Ahli United Bank’s one-year fixed bond also offers 4.8% back, but with a minimum investment of £1,000.

This means that if you were to save £1,000 in this account, you would earn £48 a year in interest.

The best notice accounts offer slightly higher rates than the best fixed-term bonds.

These also come with more flexibility when accessing your cash.

The Bank of London and The Middle East’s 90 day notice account offers savers 5.15% back with a minimum £10,000 deposit, for example.

Vanquis Bank’s 90 day notice account offers 5.10% back to those with less money to save – and it only requires a minimum deposit of £1,000.

This means that if you were to save £1,000 in this account, you would earn £51 a year in interest.

If you’re looking for a savings account without withdrawal limitations, then you’ll want to opt for an easy-access saver.

These do what they say on the tin and usually allow for unlimited cash withdrawals.

The best easy-access savings account available is from Cahoot (owned by Santander), which pays 5% – and you only need to pay a minimum of £1 to set it up.

This means that if you were to save £1,000 in this account, you would earn £50 a year in interest.

Furness Building Society’s easy access saver offers customers 4.9% back on investments worth £1 or more.

If you want to build a habit of saving a set amount of money each month, a regular savings account could pay you dividends.

Principality Building Society’s Six Month Regular Saver offers 8% interest on savings.

It allows customers to save between £1 and £200 a month.

Save in the maximum, and you’ll earn 27.53 in interest.

While regular savings accounts look attractive due to the high interest rates on offer, they are not right for all savers. 

You can’t use a regular savings account to earn interest on a lump sum.

The amount you can save into the account each month will be limited, typically to somewhere between £200 and £500.

Therefore, if you have more to save, it would be wise to consider one of the other accounts mentioned above.

What’s next for savings rates?

Savings rates usually rise and fall with the Bank of England‘s base rate.

The central bank’s decision to cut rates yesterday come after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that inflation stood at 1.7% in September, well below the BoE’s 2% target.

Interest rates had previously risen from historic lows of 0.1% in December 2021, peaking at 5.25% in July 2023, as part of efforts to reduce inflation to the Bank’s target.

However, the latest MPC meeting come only one week after Rachel Reeves announced nearly £70billion in additional spending during her Autumn Statement.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) indicated that this sharp increase in spending will contribute to higher inflation in the coming months, although it will also help drive stronger economic growth.

It forecasts that inflation will average 2.5% this year and 2.6% next year before decreasing, assuming the Bank of England takes action to help bring it to the target rate.

As a result, money markets are now betting interest rates will stay slightly higher for longer.

But, the base rate is still expected to fall to 3.5% by the end of 2025.

That’s bad news for savers, whose rates typically fall when the Bank’s rate is cut.

However, in the meantime, opting for a fixed bond can be a useful bet to help ride out future cuts to the base rate.

Gold-related securities are among our top holdings, which is surprising as we are bottom-up investors.

How do we think about an asset that produces no cash flows?

There are two ways we look at it: from a supply-demand standpoint and versus currencies. Both are informed by gold’s key characteristics: gold is trustless, rustless, shiny and tiny.

From a supply-demand standpoint, gold has two qualities that make it different from copper, iron ore or lithium.

The first is that it’s rustless. It doesn’t degrade over time, so all the world’s gold is still in existence and theoretically available for sale. This means supply and demand is not purely a matter of mines versus consumers.

Second, gold is shiny. Its primary function is not as an input to other products but as jewellery or a store of value. In this regard, gold has been viewed for millennia as the best store of value available to most people.

Being rustless and shiny makes gold nice to have around your finger or hidden away for a rainy day.

On the supply side, gold is tiny – that is, it is rare to find in the ground and getting rarer.

The supply of new gold has been slowly dropping over recent decades. Unlike something like lithium, humans have been scouring for gold for centuries and the most bountiful deposits have been exhausted.

Aggregate mine quality has been dropping for a very long time. This translates into higher and higher mining costs, especially with lower ore grade being met by higher labour and energy costs, plus increasing environmental expenses. Miners require a higher price to justify their higher costs.

On the demand side of the equation, while jewellery demand has been fairly constant, gold has long been the first stop in the wealth accumulation process for much of the world.

As the emerging world has been growing a middle class, demand for gold has accelerated in recent years. That has been boosted by gold’s fourth quality: it is trustless.

Gold is not anyone else’s liability, and that becomes more valuable as trust becomes more scarce.

Coincident with the acceleration of populism and a re-bifurcation of the world into East versus West, both nations and individuals feel less trusting. On top of that, the US has weaponised the dollar system against its adversaries, cutting them off from Swift payments and freezing their central bank reserves.

Unsurprisingly, central banks for adversaries and non-adversaries alike are buying gold, and we expect that to continue. Gold’s trustless quality is becoming more valuable as trust in the US dollar system wanes.

So, from a strictly supply-demand standpoint, the minimum price hurdle has been steadily increasing with lower mine quality and rising costs, and new demand is outstripping new supply and the urge to sell by current holders. So long as mining costs don’t fall and the drivers of mass demand remain, the price of gold should stay well underpinned.

The other standpoint is to view gold versus currencies. Many scoff at this perspective, but being trustless, rustless, shiny and tiny makes gold very currency-like.

Its validity as such has been proven over a long time, with its first official use by the Egyptians in 1500 BC. Further, it’s the only currency-like asset that has not been devalued through governmental mismanagement.

It is important to remember the number of dollars, pounds or euros you see in an account is only worth what others are willing to give you in exchange. Unlike gold, where the supply is essentially fixed, all paper currencies suffer the same frailty – politicians or their appointees control the printing press and their desire is generally to get re-elected and their time horizon only extends through their tenure.

This makes them inclined to print, spend and give away as much as they can get away with. Recently, that has been a lot!

On the US government’s own forecasts (using assumptions we consider rosy), Federal debt to gross domestic product is set to rise from today’s 100% to 120% and beyond.

Essentially, all the increase is in mandatory programmes like pensions and healthcare. With more debt and ongoing deficits, interest expense creeps up. This year, the US will spend more on interest servicing its debt than it spends on its entire military.

Higher interest expense makes deficits worse, necessitating further debt issuance to plug the hole. With more debt comes higher interest expenses, worse deficits and yet more debt – it can become a spiral.

While every day, the camel appears to be fine under the weight of the straw on its back, the risk that the camel’s back breaks certainly exists, with very significant implications for markets and accumulated wealth. In this light, we currently view holding a decent amount of gold exposure as prudent.

The remaining question is what would make us sellers and, here, gold is not so different from the other holdings in our multi-asset portfolios. Every security is in a continuous competition for capital.

The most likely cause for us to sell gold will be to free up capital for better opportunities – if equities decline and gold holds up better, for instance, fulfilling its traditional diversifying role.

A swing in the pendulum towards increased fiscal responsibility or reduced geopolitical conflict would also swing our views, and could make big swathes of the equity and fixed-income universe more compelling on a fundamental view.

While we hope for that improvement, it looks unlikely to us today. Gold may just prove to shine brightest when the outlook appears to be dimmest elsewhere.

Alec Cutler is manager of the Orbis Global Balanced fund